Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas everyone!

I hope you're all having a wonderful holiday and making the most of the dry weather to get out and enjoy yourselves.

Now that I'm enjoying a temporary lull between the mania of hosting Christmas for 6 people and partying the new year in, I'm finally studying for my RYA Essential Navigation certificate (a mere 2 1/2 months after signing up for it...). So far, so good! Thanks to a few on board lessons from First Mate Paul Atwood during my Level 2 training, I was already pretty familiar with buoys which has definitely helped me on my way.

Flipping my hikers brain from plotting map co-ordinates longitude-latitude (along the corridor and up the stairs) to latitude-longitude (up the stairs and along the corridor) is taking some definite mental flexing though! Why oh why does it have to be a different way round for land and sea? Maybe I'll just have a little more cheese to help power the old noggin...

A week in the life of a Level 2 Clipper trainee

At long last, the story of my Level 2 training has been translated into intelligible English from my awful boat scrawl - enjoy a look into the life of a Clipper Race trainee!

Sorry all for the hiatus and thank-you so much for sticking with me - the last couple of months have been insanely busy and I've barely had time to breathe. The next few months are likely to be just as hectic, but I'm determined to make time to chart my Clipper journey more regularly in the new year! Coming up next on my Clipper journey - I'll be completing my RYA Navigation certification over the next month which I'm super excited for, and Crew Briefing/Party in January down at the London Boat Show - watch this space!

P.S. Feeling full of the Christmas spirit? Please support the amazing work of the Red Cross and help push me over the £1500 mark in time for Christmas: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RedShoesCaitlin

Thanks to Emily Woodason for this great snapshot of life on CV8!

Friday 26th August - The journey begins! 

Travelled with a friend to Waterloo after work and grabbed a sandwich before boarding the train to Portsmouth Harbour. I felt rather like a turtle carrying my sailing life on my back across London, and I was definitely as ungainly - a steady stream of apologies punctuated the journey.

Plenty of room on the train south, so I revised my notes and the Crew Manual a bit. The ferry was late so I got a taxi to the AirBnB - good thing too as it was a lot further from the marina then it said it was! The host was nice and we chatted for about 40 minutes before I headed up to my room to repack my clothes in much more logical outfit rolls (underwear, base and mid layer top and bottoms rolled up together) and revise some more vocab.

Saturday 27th August - Sea Survival

What a crazily hot building! I know it’s August but it was like being in a sauna all day. We split the day into theory in the morning and practical in the afternoon - the theory was interesting but quite scary, and we had a great instructor. Worked through a short lunch to do the practice early and finish a bit early.

The practice wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be - I could actually do everything, even climbing into the very slippery life raft from the water. Hurrah! It was nice as well that if anyone struggled they got lots of cheers of support and a round of applause when they managed it - the true Clipper spirit right there. Swimming in a life jacket is very strange, especially when you’re rescuing someone you don’t know as you end up with your legs wrapped around them rather closely and splashing your arms around behind your head trying not to drown them. Fortunately, we all got the hang of it quite quickly and it definitely broke the ice!

Got a lift to the race office with Faith and had an hour break before we got assigned to our boats for the week. Headed into Gosport with Emily and Faith for crew sweets and a snack (Homity Pie and a chai latte at Coffee1 - yum!). When we got back to the race office we got split into two seven man crews and went to our boats - I got assigned to CV8 with Skipper Chris Kobusch and Mate Paul Atwood. 

After picking our bunks (I picked the forward bottom on the other side to last time - my favourite bunk on the 68’s!) we did crew/skipper/mate intros and covered the below decks safety brief. Fajitas for dinner then flare chat and knot practice - who knew there were three ways to tie a bowline?! Feels unnecessarily complicated to me… Headed to the Castle to meet the other L2 crew for a drink. Slept really well despite how hot and quiet it was. Woke up at 6.30 for a 7.30 breakfast and was the last up!

Sunday 28th August - Bunk yoga is totally a thing!

I’ve been assigned to the Odds watch (the larger of the two with four crew) and am a deckhand today. We’re all rotating roles each 24 hours - deckhand, mother watch, engineer, navigator/watch leader - so we get to try everything thoroughly for a whole day which is great.

On deck safety brief, pontoon MOB with Bob (apparently Ruth is called Bob by everyone outside my awesome Level 1 crew, very strange), readied the staysail, yankee and mainsail to hoist. Slipped lines after lunch at around 2.30pm and motored into the Solent and hoisted the main - I helped sweat it up. Unfortunately there was a hole in the main fairly high up so we immediately had to put two reefs in - good job we’d done that before in Level 1 because we hadn’t prepped for it given the very light airs we were sailing in! Hoisted the staysail. Dinner at 6pm - feeling quite queasy and the creamy mushroom pasta definitely didn’t help matters (mushrooms = slimy little devils). 

Started our first night watches and Odds were on 6-10pm and 2am-6am. Did lots of night tacking in the first watch - we didn’t use head torches so had to let our eyes get used to the darkness and learn what to do by touch. It was quite strange not being able to see the colour of the line I was easing or grinding and having to trust that I knew which one was which by touch and position. Nighttime solo sheeting on the staysail was quite fun!

Came off watch at 10pm and went straight to my bunk - did 2 minutes of bunk yoga (happy baby, cobra and child pose all work well in such a confined space and really stretch out the back and joints) then managed to sleep for two hours. Woke up feeling really seasick for the first time in my life and had to rush to the heads and then the saloon where I spent a good part of the rest of my off-watch lying on the floor feeling like hell. 

Monday 29th August - A taste of the English Channel

Back on watch at 2am still not feeling great but the fresh air, conversation and no tacking for the first hour helped quite a bit. Helmed for 10 minutes in the dark - I did not like it at all! I am definitely not a helm junkie. Off watch at 6am for 6 hours but was engineer duty for the day so had to clean and do the engine checks with my Evens counterpart Marek before I could go to sleep (couldn’t face breakfast after sticking my head in the diesel engine and generator).

Anchored while I was asleep - not sure how I managed to sleep through that when the anchor locker was right next to my head! - and woke up to the main sail being repaired. I was still off-watch so managed to force down a jam sandwich made by the wonderful Jenny and brush my teeth before heading back to sleep until the afternoon watch.

Back on watch around 2 to slip anchor (that thing is damn heavy) and hoist the main (I was on the main sheet and coffee grinder). Had a bit of trouble with the mainsail and had to move it up and down a little a few times - exhausting! Hoisted the staysail and yankee one after the other (on the staysail sheets then the coffee grinder). 

MOB drill in the afternoon, and I volunteered to be the rescue swimmer - seasickness be damned! Unfortunately, as it was our first run at a sea rescue, it didn’t go quite to plan…but we did get Bob back in the first pass and manage wrestle him on board.  My harness was loose so it kept pulling me to one side, I didn’t blow up my lifejacket (the automatic release is disabled on the rescue jacket to prevent it going off too soon) so I kept getting mouthfuls of the English Channel (really not good for sea sickness), and the immersion suit leaked down the front so my toasty warm layers were soaked! A quick change and a biscuit before debriefing soon sorted it all out though.

Lots of tacking for the rest of the afternoon with us all rotating position so we really got to grips with what we were doing anywhere on the boat. I was last on helm thanks to my dislike for it, which unfortunately meant that I got stuck there for a while during the debrief...really should have got it over with sooner… Sausage, mash and gravy for dinner then know practice for a watch competition. Dropped the stay and yankee sails (tailing the stay halyard and bowman for the yankee), then the main. I was on the topping lift for the main, and eased too quickly in VMT - fortunately everyone was fine but it really did bring it home what a dangerous place the boat can be if you’re not careful and alert every second. 

Helped flake the main, which was so much easier with an older sail than it was with the brand new one we had in Level 1. Motored to to the mooring lines at Yarmouth where I was manning the searchlight to find the buoy. It took a lot of passes to get it as it was a very small target and it was very dark (around 10.30pm) making it tough for Marek and Emily to hook the line in, but they managed it eventually. Quick cuppa and some pomegranate love sweets from Emily (we found them absolutely hilarious - not sure if it was the exhaustion or the sudden sugar high) then the knot competition. Our watch won all but one round! Need to work on my slip knot and be careful with the double sheet bend but I was one of the quickest on all of them so I’ve got good speed. As we won we got to choose our watch times - I chose the 6am-7am duty as I'm on Mother Watch the next day. Headed straight to bed at 12 and slept right through.

Tuesday 30th August - Gybe, gybe, and gybe again

Up, dressed and on watch by 6am. Marek is staying up after the 5am-6am watch to help prep for Mother Watch with me. Porridge for breakfast - seems to be my staple on board! Despite worrying about making it good enough that everyone liked it, everyone had seconds, and one person (I’ll name no names) even had thirds! 

Hoisted the main and staysail, then put in a reef and shook it out and did a racing headsail change. I was on Bow 1 - YAY - with Marek on Bow 2 to hank on the Yankee 1 below the Yankee 3. Dropped the Yankee 3 and I had to communicate with the Pit using handsigns as well as voice commands to control the yankee halyard speed. The hanks were really tough to get off - salty and stiff.

Jacket potato, beans and cheese for lunch on deck (nice and easy to make while at an angle) followed by rigging a gybe preventer and lots and lots of gybing. I was really confused at the first position in my rotation, the dreaded helm, but it started to make sense after moving around a few positions - it’s like tacking with an extra bit (centring the main). As someone who really likes to understand exactly what I’m doing and why, not understanding at the beginning was pretty hard to deal with. Everyone was really supportive and kept explaining it until I got it which was really great.

In celebration of Julie's birthday, Chris bought her a birthday cake which we had all kept carefully hidden from her all week until our little birthday party on deck. Great fun and a fantastic example of the Clipper family spirit - plus delicious cake!

Another MOB drill in the afternoon while sailing downwind - our best one yet. We were much quicker at our tasks although we were still a little hesitant  to take a task. I was on the mainsheet to start to centre the main before moving forwards to take a halyard back and leading the drop/hoist of the rescue swimmer (Jenny this time) and Bob. Apparently I was very clear and did a good job - hurrah! More gybing then headed below to make chilli for dinner. Ended up serving cake and custard for dessert - so much washing up! 

Back on deck to rig the mooring lines at the buoy at Cowes where I was right up at the bow rigging the lines. I really love it up there! Another knot competition for watch choices on deck in the dark. Sadly us Odds lost (just) so we got second pick and I wound up with 12am-1pm. Really need to practice my rolling hitch! Slept well from 10pm to just before 12am. Early morning ahead with breakfast at 6am for a full day sailing. On Navigator and Watch Leader duty tomorrow - can’t wait!

Wednesday 31st August - Bob makes a break for it - yet again!

Led a racing sail hoist - staysail and yankee right after each other - without my wet notes! Went really well and I remembered all of the steps. MOB upwind this time and I ended up controlling the halyards again, and apparently did very well. As we did the racing headsail change yesterday, today we just practiced a change from Y3 to Y1 - I led on the bow (yay) and led the Y3 flake. Marek and I put in a 2-man reef before a lot of tacking and gybing practice. 

Another downwind MOB - surprise this time - while taking down the yankee. Had to think quickly to secure the part we had unhanked and move it aft so it wasn’t in the way and didn’t unflake itself over the side. Was manning the staysail halyard this time while Julie went over as rescue swimmer. 

Tried a Le Mons start which was great fun although we were a bit slow - it was our first time after all! Was on the mooring lines as we came into moor at the marina in Gosport, then helped Georg lead the Y1 flake once we were secure in port and led on the staysail flake. Went below to help Julie make dinner as she didn’t have a watch partner, then a quick shower and off to the Castle for a drink with the crew.

Thursday 1st September - The end of a great week

Up and ready by 7.10 waiting for the others to pack and eat breakfast to start the deep clean by 8am. Powered through to finish for 12.30pm. Bit of a problem with the Y2 when the sail bag disintegrated at the clew end so we had to flake it inside the sail locker - less than ideal!

My review chat with Chris went well - apparently I know everything, I just need to know that I know it! Calling the halyards in the MOB drills was spot on which is great although I hope I never need that particular skill for real. Amusingly he held me up as an example of how to self-study after I told him about my flashcards (available to download free here) - quite flattering! 

Lunch on deck, followed by a *small* problem overfilling the water tanks leading to 150l sloshing around the crew bilges needing to be bailed out. Manned a halyard with Georg while Chris did the rig check and then popped next door onto Clipper Telemed+ with Julie - absolutely love the 70’s! They have a great deck layout - so clear on the bow and fore deck and great setup below as well. Took our gear to the office then popped to the Boathouse for a final crew drink before getting the ferry to Portsmouth and the train back to London with Marek and Emily. All in all, a great week and I can’t wait until Level 3 in April!

A few of our crew in-jokes...

• The Log joke
• Hair & make-up
• Pervy Bob
• TMI

Life saving

After a long day in London at the end of a long week (I just started a new job),  today I was officially qualified as a First Aider by the RYA - HURRAH!

Basic first aid is such a simple skill, I really recommend everyone go out and do a course. Sailor or not, through the RYA or not (the British Red Cross offer local courses for very reasonable prices), it's just one day out of your life that may help you save the life of someone you care about.

Go save a life - get qualified too!

P.S. Full run-down of my Level 2 last month to follow soon, I promise!

What if...? The Level 2 Fear

With only 6 days left to go until I head down to Gosport to start my Level 2 training, I have to admit, I'm equal parts incredibly excited and utterly terrified.

The excitement part is fairly obvious - I've been desperate to get back out on the water since I disembarked for the last time at the end of Level 1, and can't wait to learn more and really get to grips with being at sea for more than just a day at a time, plus meet more Clipper Crazies. Kit-wise, I've been packed for a week already (I got a wee bit over-excited by the arrival of my new Musto holdall...) so I'm looking forward to trying out my new thermals and dry-bags (a sentence I never thought I'd say a year ago!).

On the other hand, I am pretty scared. In my head I know that I can get through training - after all, I got through Level 1 just fine and even managed to shake out a reef on my own, I hiked 110 miles across the Scottish Highlands in June, and there'll be a whole crew in exactly the same position as me and a first class Skipper and Mate to guide us through.

My stomach is a completely different matter! 

What if I've forgotten everything? (I'll probably remember more than I think I will)  

What if I suddenly hate sailing? (like that could ever really happen)  

What if I can't manage physically? (if I can drag myself plus a 17-18kg pack 110 miles while climbing 6000m over rough mountain terrain with various injuries, I can definitely manage a week on a boat with crewmates and winches to help carry the load)  

What if my cold turns into full-blown flu? (it's pretty unlikely if I'm sensible (!) and wrap up warm and hydrate) 

What if...?  

What if I just go for it and have an absolute ball of a time?

Bring it on Level 2!

The Clipper vs Paid Holiday balancing act

A few people asked me at Crew Briefing recently about how I'm managing my work holiday allowance with all the training I need to do for Clipper as well as the thru-hiking I did earlier this year for British Red Cross.

To answer them and anyone else who is struggling with this, here are my tips for getting the most out of your paid holidays!

Bank holidays are your new best friend

You may have avoided them like the plague before now for fear of being attacked by swarms of hyperactive small children on holiday being trailed by exhausted parents, but they are your new BFF - time to embrace them. I've got my Level 2 booked for this August bank holiday weekend, and that's saved me a whole day of holiday that I can use to relax at Christmas or have a long weekend with a friend. Pretty nifty, eh?

Plan ahead

Back in November 2015 I booked my Level 1 and 2 training for March and August 2016, and recently I booked in my Level 3 for April 2017. While to some this may seem like crazy levels of organisation, actually by doing this I could plan around bank holidays (remember: you're now BFFs) and have worked it so that for three weeks of training, normally 15 work days, I've only had to take 10 holiday days. That's a whole extra week of paid time off hanging around for other Clipper activities or for less exhausting holiday options (long weekend in Paris anyone?).

Planning ahead also means that you're much more likely to get on the course you want when you want - bank holidays are training hot spots!

I hope this helps anyone who has been struggling a bit :) And if anyone else has any great tips for making the most of your holiday time, please let me know!

Is it just me? Or, Kit Madness

Does this ever happen to anyone else, or is it just me?

Earlier this week my brand new Musto Evolution 60l waterproof holdall* arrived at work and I was so excited I had it out of its packaging and was brandishing it around the office showing it off in about 10 seconds flat (lucky for me my office is infected with Clipper Fever so they were at least vaguely interested in the appearance of a giant dry bag).

But hey, it was in the sale (my favourite thing) at a mere £57 instead of £115! And it has a nifty valve feature to remove excess air to save space! And an adjustable shoulder strap! And an easy-to-spot-at-night-using-a-red-light colour!

That wasn't the worst of it though - today my excitement reached a whole new level when I went to put it away in my kit cupboard (thru-hiking and sailing seems to come with a whole load of kit that demands its own space) and noticed a few things I knew I wouldn't be using until my Level 2 training in two weeks (sailing boots, sleeping bag etc). So obviously it made total sense to put those things inside the holdall to save space and having to pack them next weekend anyway. Twenty minutes later my entire kit is packed into dry bags within the giant drybag and is ready to sail.

Oops.

*Full kit review to follow after its inaugural use at Level 2 training later this month

Current Crew Q&A - July 2016

A few weeks ago at crew briefing we had a great Q&A session with some of the 15-16 leggers and a 13-14 RTW, and I was quite annoyed at myself that I got so into the session that I forgot to take notes. Fear not though, because the lovely people at Clipper HQ recorded the session and wrote everything down! Enjoy :)

• Jennifer Day - Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Legs 1 and 7, Garmin
• Sue Pither – Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Leg 4, Garmin
• Deio Jones – Clipper 2015-16 Race crew, Leg 1-4, Derry~Londonderry~Doire
• Neil Bennett – Clipper 2013-14 Race crew, Leg 1-4, GREAT Britain
• Michelle Porter – Clipper 2013-14 Race crew, Circumnavigator, Derry~Londonderry~Doire

Race Finish is tomorrow, what was going through your mind as you sailed back up the Thames on completion of your race in July 2014?

Michelle: When we left Den Helder in the Netherlands it was strange, we had this experience of our lives, eleven months of sailing around the world and all of a sudden it was going to be over. When you realise that it’s pretty overwhelming and sad as your crew are your friends and you don’t want it to end.  

Neil: It was the weirdest feeling, you meet everyone at the beginning of the race but then everyone does their own leg so there are some crew you see more than others. As a legger I joined our team spectator boat at Race Finish so all the crew were back together again, it was amazing despite having been back for six months I was still very much part of the race but when the fleet comes up the Thames, you then realise it really is over. 

What did you do at the end of the race?

Michelle: You live in the Clipper Race bubble for the duration of your race and when you get back you are adamant you are not going to get back in the rat race but I live in London so I guess it was inevitable, I am working long hours like I did before the race. You never forget the Clipper Race and we are still experiencing it today. 

Neil: It’s definitely a shock when you first get off the boat. I got off the boat in Australia, I flew home on the Friday and was back at work on the Monday. My boss told me it took six weeks for me to focus at work - he was a very understanding boss! It is tough but you do get back into it and as Michelle says you are always a part of the race, like today, when we are standing here sharing our stories. 

What goals were you were looking to achieve from the race?

Jenny: Crew Allocation is a really exciting day. When your name is read out it’s like being at a school assembly and off you go with your team mates and skipper to discuss what sort of team you want to be. For us on board Garmin, we decided quite early on that we wanted to be in the top six on the overall leaderboard and as the race progressed and we achieved more podiums we changed for the new goal of being on the overall podium at Race Finish. The goals do shift and change as you go through the race, as a team, as well as individually. 

Deio: I couldn’t make it to Crew Allocation but I know that my crew mates scored themselves as to how competitive they were and we seemed to be quite a competitive team. We did come up with some personal goals too and for me, my goal was to get a podium once and to try being a watch leader and helm in big seas. We got more than one podium, I got to helm and I became assistant watch leader during my race so I was very happy with that.  

Sue: I signed up two years before my race started so I had an incredibly long lead up to it which is great in some ways but also strange to be looking forward to it for so long. I remember our skipper explaining what being competitive meant and he was good at explaining what you had to give up to achieve it, it really made you think about what it is you really want from your race and sometimes that can change. I think our boat was great at working on the team and individual crew members’ goals, we pinned our objectives up on the wall to keep in the back of our minds.  

How does the mix of circumnavigators and leggers on board work in reality?

Michelle: I was Team Coordinator for my team, we had ten circumnavigators and 45 leggers.  As a team we agreed early on that there would be a shore side contact crew member and we coordinated weekly emails to and from the boat to the whole team to keep in contact with each other while racing. We also ensured that crew joining their race were involved in the stopover and preparation of their race in advance, helping out with jobs in port such as finding the local supermarkets for us to victual, finding hotels for the team to book into and so on. They were always one step ahead of us when we got into port and this shore side support really helped the efficiency of our team and our integration with everyone as a whole.

Jenny: I did two legs independently, not back to back, and I really enjoyed doing it that way. It makes more sense financially to stay on the boat than keep flying back and forth but those were the races I wanted to participate in and I was happy I did it. For Leg 1 there is no integration needed really, everyone is starting out new together, it’s everyone’s first experience together. The transition coming back for Leg 7 to see how everyone, especially how the circumnavigators had developed was fantastic and you are looked after by everyone on board. A big thing within our team was the communication as well, we had a team facebook group that we plugged everyone’s comments into, crew, family and friends and it’s a great way of connecting with the team and help you join in too. 

Deio: We had a weekly email and shore side support too on the boat, the circumnavigating crew were split evenly between two watches and we looked after one another and helped one another out. It happened naturally and after a few days you are immersed, you get to know your strengths and weaknesses as a team and individual, and it’s in everyone’s interests to make an effort with one another and get up to speed as quickly as possible.  

Sue: I joined in Australia, there were quite a few of us joining and it was challenging to come onto a slick watch system. Unfortunately I received a minor injury on the first day that required me to sit out for 24 hours, doing this I was able to observe how the team performed and see how I could contribute to that. We also had a buddying system, if you ask anyone on board they will help you and the little things really help.  

Neil: We hot bunked on our boat and I shared my bunk with a circumnavigator. We figured out a
nice way of sharing our bunk together. When one of us got up to get onto our watch we would roll our sleeping bag up, put it on the bottom of the bunk, get the other person’s sleeping bag out and unroll it to allow your bunk buddy to get straight into their bed readymade. It was a small thing that made such a difference, we didn’t quite go as far as putting chocolates on each other’s pillow though! 

Did you plan to get back to work as normal or did you have other ideas?

Michelle: When I took part in the race I was on a sabbatical from work, by the time I had gotten to San Francisco after the Pacific Ocean race I couldn’t bear the thought of going back to my old job so handed my resignation in. I had realised I didn’t care for lots of money or materialistic things but slowly you do get back into London life but you never forget what you did. The race has changed me completely as a person but I think ultimately if you live in London, the London life will creep back in but I don’t regret it at all.  

Jenny: It’s a good question but I think it comes back to what you personally want to get out of the race. If you are using it as a vessel to make change in your life back home, it certainly is a great way to do that. Some people don’t put pressure on the experience and themselves and wait to see what happens before making decisions about what to do afterwards, and sometimes you just naturally get back into the swing of life.  

Deio: I stayed in Australia after my race and I have only been home for two weeks, I am flying back out to Australia to try and work as I now have a year’s visa. That was not planned, the race has helped me make a change in my life, what I was doing, where I was living – I am now renting out my house back home and working in sailing in Australia – which really is something considering I had never sailed before my Clipper Race adventure began. 

Sue: The race gives you time to think about what you want and how you can make your life different, so sometimes it can change things.  I did realise that I want to be closer to my family so moved nearer to them but for me personally I wasn’t looking for change specifically.  

Neil: I knew I was going to go back into the rat race, I had six months off work and my plan was to do the first three legs and then take a month off to ease myself back into work. When the race announced the Rolex Sydney Hobart Yacht Race as part of the route I knew that wasn’t going to happen and I ended up doing the first four legs and going straight back to work. I knew I was returning my job and I realised on the race that I actually really liked my job more than I thought I did rather than wanting to change it afterwards. I wanted to take some time off, my boss said I went away fairly relaxed and chilled and now my boss says I am very relaxed and chilled which I think is good. It has made me want to look at other adventures but nothing like the race, it’s a once in a lifetime experience. 

Can you tell me more about the watch system and how that dynamic works as a team as a whole?

Deio: In the first leg they manned the watch systems by sailing experience and then when we got into Rio we were asked if we wanted to change the watch system at all. The two watches were quite different and we liked that it worked well, the whole way around the world we only had two or three crew that asked to change watches just to have a bit of variety and see what the other watch was like. You don’t tend to see the other watch very often and that is the reality of the race and how it is but it’s important to make an effort with one another in port and whenever you can.  

Sue: Like anything in life not everyone gets on with everyone else all of the time but if there are any niggles on board generally you work that out. On board our skipper and team coordinator would think very carefully about what watch they would allocate a joining legger to, based on many things including experience. For me personally I really enjoyed the watch I was on and interestingly we were all very different. I was glad but each team does it in a different way.  

Neil: We mixed it up quite a lot as much as we could, there is the hour or so before the watch changes where you can go up on deck early to chat to the other watch, find out how the last six hours racing went as they hand over. There are different ways of engaging with each other. 

Jenny: On board Garmin if the spinnaker was up and the weather was good, we would all eat lunch or dinner together as a whole crew which was really good. It meant you got to have conversations with the crew and a bonding experience which helped keep team morale high. 

What one item could you not live without on board?

Sue: My daughter made me a book to take on board with me and I had to read a page a day. In it there were pictures of her and my grandchildren and messages from them all - so I cried everyday looking at that but it was wonderful. The more practical thing is sandwich bags to put all of your little items in to help keep them dry and clean.  

Jenny: Mine is a bit more practical for the ladies which is a really good sports bra or two. I did the hotter legs and it was 45 degrees below deck, so trying to sleep or do anything was hard and you have to feel comfortable. On the hotter legs you aren’t going to be wearing much clothing so it’s important to be comfortable in what you are wearing socially and physically - you aren’t going to be changing very often! 

Deio: I think on the third leg I had a normal sleeping bag which was fine, but when someone left I borrowed their proper ocean sleepwear bag and that was the only dry thing I had. If you are on a cold, rough leg a proper warm waterproof sleeping bag is a must.  

Neil: I took a kindle with a whole load of books uploaded to it, you will eat, sleep, sail for up to a
month if not longer so to have something to escape to during your down time is a great idea. It also helped me to sleep, not that I needed much help.  

Michelle: Mine would have to be my tablet for the times I needed to switch off and watch a film. If you have had a tough night watch sometimes it’s nice to take some time out and put the headphones in. 

After all the training what was the challenge that you had when you started the race that you weren’t expecting? 

Michelle: I think when you do the training you get into the routine of doing the man overboard drill. You do it so many times and you don’t think that you will ever need it, but you shouldn’t think that. We had a man overboard in the North Pacific and an hour and 40 minutes we got Andrew back, you realise that all the times you did man overboard it is for a reason but it felt like a drill until we got him back on board, which took me massively by surprise.  

Jenny: When you complete all your levels of training it’s quite a smooth transition sailing on board the race. On Leg 1 it was in some ways easier than the training - weather dependant of course - but you work yourself so hard in the training to learn everything, when you have longer and more varied conditions it falls into place.
I surprised myself that everything had clicked into place and I can now sail and here I am speaking to you about my experience, it’s great.  

David: I did most of my training back to back and did the delivery from Gosport to London which I recommend. It’s a great way to get to know the boat and other crew, how everything works and prepare it for the race. Another thing is that you do get more tired than you think you are going to get, it’s amazing how your body falls into line, you can be down below and asleep in 15 minutes if you want. The forces that go through the boat, the waves and the wind, were also a challenge the Solent doesn’t prepare you for, the boats are massively powerful when you get the big storms it’s immense but it is a surprise. 

Sue: Joining Leg 4 we had 50 knot headwinds for two days and the inability to get out of your bunk or trying to cook something when the boat is being thrown around, I knew it was going to be like that but until you do it you are never prepared. Another thing that surprised me was that I was never frightened or scared which I thought I might be, I had total trust and confidence in my skipper, crew and the boat. 

Neil: You are surprised at how well prepared you are for the race and for me, the challenge and the surprise was living in a confined space with 23 other people for a month at a time. Trying to maintain relationships and trying not to get angry about stupid things was hard and you don’t get that on training, when you are 14 days in and have 14 more to go to dry land, training did not prepare me for that but I learnt.